Approximately 200 publishers and editors will converge in Fort Lauderdale beginning today for a four-day meeting to discuss freedom of the press in the Americas. The mid-year conference of the Inter-American Press Association is meeting at the Pier 66 Resort & Marina. It comes amid continued persecution of journalists in Haiti, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, said Bill Williamson, executive director of the assocation. "The press has really been fulfilling its job in a democracy by exposing crime and corruption in government," Williamson said.

The manual for the perfect Latin American dictator has always had a full chapter of media censorship. Silencing the press is a crucial first step towards eliminating freedom of expression and democracy. It used to be easier to determine where censorship was imposed. The caudillos, or dictators, so prevalent for much of the 20th century, did it openly. Now their successors do so with laws that promote the media to censor themselves or face jail or multi-million dollar fines. The new way of censoring the press was perfected by the Cuban Revolution in its early days.

For two years in a row, a Sun-Sentinel reader has won an international essay contest about freedom of the press. All South Floridians should cheer the victory of Melissa F. Hantman of Coral Springs, who won the prize for non-journalists over about 150 other entrants. Hantman is a Cornell University student, majoring in American studies, who has three times made the Dean's List. From 1995 to 1997, she wrote news and feature stories and opinion columns as a J.P. Taravella High School correspondent for the Sun-Sentinel's Next Generation page of student news.

I once attended a meeting in Havana with a group of journalists who worked for Granma, the newspaper controlled by the Cuban government. I asked the reporters how they felt about the lack of freedom of press. They looked at me like I was loco. "We have complete freedom of the press," one of the more seasoned veterans said. "We just choose not to criticize our government. Why would we want to undermine the policies of our own government?" Cuba, as we know, is not a democracy where such freedoms are guaranteed.

I once attended a meeting in Havana with a group of journalists who worked for Granma, the newspaper controlled by the Cuban government. I asked the reporters how they felt about the lack of freedom of press. They looked at me like I was loco. "We have complete freedom of the press," one of the more seasoned veterans said. "We just choose not to criticize our government. Why would we want to undermine the policies of our own government?" Cuba, as we know, is not a democracy where such freedoms are guaranteed.

The manual for the perfect Latin American dictator has always had a full chapter of media censorship. Silencing the press is a crucial first step towards eliminating freedom of expression and democracy. It used to be easier to determine where censorship was imposed. The caudillos, or dictators, so prevalent for much of the 20th century, did it openly. Now their successors do so with laws that promote the media to censor themselves or face jail or multi-million dollar fines. The new way of censoring the press was perfected by the Cuban Revolution in its early days.

A Miami Beach man attempting to overturn his DUI manslaughter conviction said he would appeal a Circuit Court judge's ruling Tuesday that a secretly made tape recording did not prove prominent defense attorney Milton Hirsch urged him to flee the country rather than face trial. "I want the truth to come out," said Sean Casey, 36, a former staff member of the Inter American Press Association who is serving a 12-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the 2001 hit-and-run death. Judge John Thornton told Casey and his lawyers that he listened to the taped conservation "not just once, but several times" before he decided to seal the recording, a decision that bans any dissemination of the tape or a transcript of its contents.

A Sun-Sentinel staff writer on Friday won a prize from the Inter American Press Association for a story on the plight of Haitians being smuggled into the United States. The winning story, titled Seeking Life, was written by Nancy San Martin, 30. It was published last year. San Martin covers immigration issues and federal agencies for the Sun-Sentinel. The prize, the IAPA-McClatchy Newspapers Award for feature stories, will be awarded at ceremonies Oct. 5-9 in Los Angeles. Also sharing in the IAPA-McClatchy feature award was The Sacramento Bee for a series on immigration problems.

Robert U. Brown, who spent four decades heading a leading newspaper industry trade publication, Editor & Publisher, died on March 20 at his home in Greenwich, Conn. He was 95. His death followed a brief illness, said Christopher L. Phillips, his grandson. From 1953 until 1999, Mr. Brown was president and editor of Editor & Publisher, which was owned by his family. At the start of his career, Mr. Brown worked as a reporter at several newspapers, including The Trenton Times in New Jersey and The Auburn Citizen-Advertiser in Auburn, N.Y. He helped found the Inter American Press Association, which promotes press freedom.

Was with the Sun-Sentinel 30 years; 14 as managing editor, 16 as editor before retiring in 2010. In 2005 was named Broward Leader of the Year by the Leadership Broward Foundation. In 2007 was named Editor of the Year by Editor & Publisher magazine. In 2008 was elected president of the InterAmerican Press Association. Upon retirement, I formed a company, MauckerMedia Consultants of which I am president. In 2012 was elected as a city...

For two years in a row, a Sun-Sentinel reader has won an international essay contest about freedom of the press. All South Floridians should cheer the victory of Melissa F. Hantman of Coral Springs, who won the prize for non-journalists over about 150 other entrants. Hantman is a Cornell University student, majoring in American studies, who has three times made the Dean's List. From 1995 to 1997, she wrote news and feature stories and opinion columns as a J.P. Taravella High School correspondent for the Sun-Sentinel's Next Generation page of student news.

Approximately 200 publishers and editors will converge in Fort Lauderdale beginning today for a four-day meeting to discuss freedom of the press in the Americas. The mid-year conference of the Inter-American Press Association is meeting at the Pier 66 Resort & Marina. It comes amid continued persecution of journalists in Haiti, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, said Bill Williamson, executive director of the assocation. "The press has really been fulfilling its job in a democracy by exposing crime and corruption in government," Williamson said.